The Autistic Me

Early Monday I leave for my first on-campus interview. Others are being scheduled, so the next month might be busy. This is a great thing in the face of weak job market. Multiple interviews are rare when so many institutions have hiring freezes or would prefer adjunct to tenure-track hiring. I've prepared the slide show, the career portfolio, and gathered other materials I might need. The clothes are planned, TSA-approved hygiene products purchased (small travel sizes), and all seems to be ready for the adventure. As I head off this week, I do so with some comfort that I likely have an offer from another university. The challenge then becomes deciding which places "feel right" when I visit.

I am on track to receive my Ph.D formally this April or May, depending on university paperwork processing. The dissertation is done, approved by my adviser, and only minor edits remain. The university bureaucracy is certainly navigable, though it is essential to have extra copies of every form on file. Now, I am on the job market as a "Ph.D Pending" (dissertation submitted). As I have previously stated, I am exiting most autism-related research after this academic year. I will continue to write and express my own views, but I have no interest in focusing the next 20 or more years of my life on autism. The debates, mistrust, and even hatred are too much for me to tolerate. The universities with which I have interviewed are hiring writing, new media, and visual design professors. One post includes the potential of teaching a graphical novel seminar, while another is primarily theatre and "rhetoric of performance" in media studies. In a tough, competitive job market, i...

I turned my dissertation draft in to my adviser shortly before Christmas. I am now waiting for suggestions, which will then allow me to finish the dissertation in January. If all goes according to plan, I will be done with my doctorate by April. The journey through graduate school will finally be over. There were false starts in the past. Failed attempts at M.Ed programs, when I hoped to return to teaching high school. One failed attempt at a journalism degree, which simply proved to be bad timing for me physically. Now, though, I have completed my M.A. in English and my Ph.D work in Rhetoric. It was a long, long journey. I count at least four attempts at a master's before I finally finished a program. Finishing was important because it finally meant I could teach full-time, at the community college level. My wife and my academic adviser were both equally responsible for my success. I needed her to keep me working through the rough times when I wanted to quit. I needed an adviser w...

Last night I appeared at the Adults with AS Support Group in St. Cloud, MN. This is a group open to anyone in Minnesota. The Web address for the group is: http://www.aspergerssupportnetwork.org I am of mixed views on support groups, both traditional groups and online groups. The groups are great when they offer useful advise and mentoring, with an emphasis on solving problems. Groups are horrible when they are nothing but "gripe and moan" (you know the saying) sessions. Complaining leads to more negativity and a sense there is no hope. The St. Cloud group seems to emphasize solutions, and therefore I want to make sure Minnesota residents know that this group is available. Knowing how to cope with any limits is important. And this does not strike me as a group of people who will simply complain about life for two hours every couple of weeks. It was an honor to speak to the group and I wanted to thank them publicly.

The Chicago Tribune has a great story on how DAN! and other organizations use valid science to justify their "treatments" for autism. The sad fact that parents trust these quacks worries me. It's also why I am not going to continue down the autism research path after I complete the dissertation. http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/chi-autism-science-nov23,0,2618338

The research for my dissertation indicates many individuals with autism disorders and/or savant abilities view language in terms of patterns and rules. This results in the "stilted" usage, the "little professor" forms of writing and speech. I'm wondering how this also challenges basic assumptions of learning and language. I love patterns. Root words and basic grammar appeal to me. I wish language were more like computer programming, in which a keyword or key phrase has a single meaning and single purpose. No one doubts you can be creative and original with computers, though they are linguistically rigid. The study of Latin would intrigue me for the same reason. Rules are rules. Esperanto also comes to mind. No wonder Tammet and others like to construct languages with rules and patterns. I used to create alphabets and languages -- I even have notebooks with my ideas from fourth and fifth grade. Rules are great because they reduce confusion. Just some thoughts as ...

I'll be speaking at the St. Cloud, MN, public library December 3 at 7:30 p.m. The topic will be adults with autism spectrum disorders. The sponsor is the Asperger's Support Network, online at: http://www.aspergerssupportnetwork.org/ The event is free and the ASN meets on a regular basis to support individuals in the "mid-state" region of Minnesota.